Rigatoni with Chicken and Radicchio

Rigatoni with
Chicken and Radicchio

Rigatoni con Pollo e Radicchio
Serves 4 to 6

This pasta sauce can just about be made in the time that it takes the pasta to cook. Large-tube pastas like rigatoni are a perfect pairing for this wonderful mixture of flavors. Use round heads of radicchio if the long-leafed variety is unavailable.

1/2 pound long-leafed radicchio di Treviso
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pound chicken thigh meat, diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
One 14-1/2-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes
1 pound Italian rigatoni pasta
Salt
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese,
plus Parmesan for the table

Quarter the long heads of radicchio lengthwise, then slice the radicchio very finely crosswise. Wash and drain well.

Warm the olive oil and garlic in a large skillet over a medium flame. When the garlic is lightly golden and fragrant, add the chicken and stir it in the pan so that it colors evenly. When the chicken has lost its pink color on all sides, pour in the wine. When the alcohol has evaporated, add the tomatoes and crush them in the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes over a medium flame, adding 1/4 cup of water if the sauce looks dry. Remove the pan from the fire and add the chopped radicchio, stirring well to mix it with the rest of the sauce.

Boil the rigatoni in abundant salted water until cooked but still al dente (10 to 12 minutes). Drain and transfer to the skillet with the sauce. Add the butter and Parmesan and toss the pasta with the sauce over a medium-high flame for 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Buy the Book!

Italy Anywhere:
Living an Italian Culinary Life
Wherever You Call Home
By Lori De Mori, Jean-Louis De Mori
and Antonio Tommasi
Viking, September, 2000
Hardback, $29.95
ISBN: 0-670-88539-8
Recipe reprinted by permission.